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Burj Khalifa: The World's Tallest Building

Burj Khalifa (Arabic: برج خليفة‎‎, Arabic for
"Khalifa Tower"; pronounced English /ˈbɜːrdʒ kəˈliːfə/), known as Burj
Dubai before its inauguration, is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates. It is the tallest structure in the world, standing at
829.8 m (2,722 ft).[4][9]
Construction of the Burj Khalifa began
in 2004, with the exterior completed in 2009. The primary structure is
reinforced concrete. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new
development called Downtown Dubai. It is designed to be the centerpiece
of large-scale, mixed-use development. The decision to build the
building is reportedly based on the government's decision to diversify
from an oil-based economy, and for Dubai to gain international
recognition. The building was named in honor of the ruler of Abu Dhabi
and president of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan;
Abu Dhabi and the UAE government lent Dubai money to pay its debts. The
building broke numerous height records, like being the tallest tower in
the world.

Burj Khalifa was designed by Adrian Smith, then of
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), whose firm designed the Willis
Tower and One World Trade Center. Hyder Consulting was chosen to be the
supervising engineer with NORR Group Consultants International Limited
chosen to supervise the architecture of the project. The design of Burj
Khalifa is derived from patterning systems embodied in Islamic
architecture, incorporating cultural and historical elements particular
to the region, such as in the Great Mosque of Samarra. The Y-shaped plan
is designed for residential and hotel usage. A buttressed core
structural system is used to support the height of the building, and the
cladding system is designed to withstand Dubai's summer temperatures. A
total of 57 elevators and 8 escalators .

Development

Construction
began on 6 January 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed
on 1 October 2009. The building officially opened on 4 January
2010,[2][10] and is part of the new 2 km2 (490-acre) development called
Downtown Dubai at the 'First Interchange' along Sheikh Zayed Road, near
Dubai's main business district. The tower's architecture and engineering
were performed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, with Adrian
Smith as chief architect, and Bill Baker as chief structural
engineer.[11][12] The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South
Korea.[13] The tower's construction was done by the construction
division of Al Ghurair Investment group.[14][15]

Conception Burj
Khalifa was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use
development that would include 30,000 homes, nine hotels (including The
Address Downtown Dubai), 3 hectares (7.4 acres) of parkland, at least 19
residential towers, the Dubai Mall, and the 12-hectare (30-acre)
man-made Burj Khalifa Lake. The decision to build Burj Khalifa is
reportedly based on the government's decision to diversify from an oil
based economy to one that is service and tourism based. According to
officials, it is necessary for projects like Burj Khalifa to be built in
the city to garner more international recognition, and hence
investment. "He (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) wanted to put
Dubai on the map with something really sensational," said Jacqui
Josephson, a tourism and VIP delegations executive at Nakheel
Properties.[16] The tower was known as Burj Dubai ("Dubai Tower"
until its official opening in January 2010.[17] It was renamed in honor
of the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emirates,
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Abu Dhabi and the federal government of UAE
lent Dubai tens of billions of USD so that Dubai could pay its debts –
Dubai borrowed at least $80 billion for construction projects.[17] In
2000s, Dubai started diversifying its economy but it suffered from an
economic crisis in 2007–2010, leaving large scale projects already in
construction abandoned.